Training planning and working memory in third graders

GOLDIN A.; SEGRETIN M.S.; HERMIDA M.J.; PAZ L.; LIPINA S.J.; SIGMAN M.

Mind, Brain & Education

John Wiley & Sons Inc

Año: 2013 vol. 7 p. 136 - 146

1751-2271

Working memory and planning are fundamental cognitive skills supporting fluid reasoning. We show that two games that train working memory and planning skills in school-aged children promote transfer to two different tasks: an attentional and a fluid reasoning tests. We also show long-term improvement of planning and memory capacities in eight-year-old children after playing adaptive computer games specifically tailored to entrain these cognitive functions. Working Memory capacity expanded from five to seven items by using our games. Furthermore, steady progression in the task indicates that this capacity can be trained rapidly. Instead, planning abilities persisted in a non-markovian form of play, where a move is highly influenced by previous moves, majorly avoiding back-ups. Here we introduce a public and growing platform (http://www.matemarote.com.ar/) developed for this research which has the potential for wide use in educational research.